Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM's address at "Krishi Karman Awards" presentation ceremony in Karnataka
Greetings to all of you! First of all, Happy New Year to all! Also, my best wishes to you on the harvest festival Sankranti.
Shri Yediyurappa ji, the popular Chief Minister of Karnataka, my cabinet colleague Shri Narendra Singh Tomar ji, who is running the agrarian movement in the country, Shri Sadanand Gowda ji, Shri Prahlad Joshi ji, Chief Minister of Manipur Shri N. Biren Singh, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat ji, other central Ministers and the Ministers from the Government of Karnataka, the MPs, MLAs, all the delegates from other states of the country and my peasant brothers gathered here in large numbers.
It is a great privilege for me to start the New Year and the new decade with a meeting with the Annadata - our peasant brothers and sisters. On behalf of the 130 crore countrymen, I wish every farmer of the country a very happy new year, and thank the farmers who produce food for the country. It is the hard work of the farmers, due to which food production in India is at a record level today.
Today I have got an opportunity to honour my farmer companions and their states which are advancing the agricultural sector of the country. I congratulate all the farmers who have received Krishi Karman Award, and their efforts are commendable.
Today, the fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have been given deep sea fishing boats and transponders. I also congratulate all my fishermen friends for the same.
Friends,
Besides the Krishi Karman Award, this land of Karnataka has become a witness to another historical achievement. Today, under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, money has been deposited in the account of 8th crore farmer friend. Accomplishing this in such a short time is a big thing. Moreover, today, 12 thousand crore rupees have been deposited in the account of 6 crore farmer families of the country at the same time.
Friends,
There was also a period in the country when only 15 paise reached the poor, if one rupee was sent to him. The rest of the 85 paise used to be taken away by the middlemen.
Today,
Every penny of the funds sent is directly reaching the accounts of the poor. I congratulate the state governments across the country, including Karnataka, for identifying the beneficiary farmers at a rapid pace.
In the New Year, I hope that those states, which are not implementing PM Kisan Samman Yojana, will definitely join the scheme this year. The mindset that ‘a particular scheme belongs to that party and not ours’ or ‘if we implement this scheme, that party will benefit’ has done a lot of harm to the people of the country.
This kind of politics never allowed the farmers of the country to become strong.
Our government understood your requirements, your concerns and needs. We looked at agriculture as a whole, and not in isolation, and worked together for fighting the challenges related to this sector.
Friends, there had been hundreds of irrigation projects that were in a limbo for decades. We have always given priority to the interests of farmers be it changes in laws related to crop insurance, soil health cards or 100 per cent neem coating of urea. For many years, farmers have been demanding that the MSP be increased by one and a half times the cost. Our government has also taken this historic decision.
Brothers and sisters,
Apart from addressing your current needs, our focus is also on your future needs. The capacity of cold storage is being increased throughout the country, so that the farmers do not have the problems of storage of grains, fruits and flowers. The e-Nam network is being expanded to enable farmers to sell their crops in the electronic market in any part of the country.
Friends,
A vaccination campaign has been launched at the national level to combat Foot and Mouth Diseases of animals so that farmers have minimum expenditure on treatment of animals. PM Kusum Yojana has been launched to enable farmers to generate solar power in their fields and sell it to the national grid.
Friends,
The agriculture sector of the country has a huge role in turning India's economy to a $ 5 trillion economy. Our government is insisting on creating Cash crop-centric and Export-centric farming system for the same.
When it comes to export of agricultural products, south India has played an important role since ancient times. The weather here, the soil here and easy connectivity to the world through the sea have been the reasons for the same. We want to make this power of South India also the power of Agro Export of New India.
Brothers and sisters,
Be it Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra, Telangana, or Tamil Nadu, there is a huge scope for processing and export of products related to Horticulture and Spices. This is the reason why special action plans are being made through the Agricultural and Processed Products Export Development Authority. Karnataka has also benefited from this.
Special clusters have been identified by the government to promote the pomegranates of Belgaum and Mysore, pink onions of Chikkaballapura and Bengaluru, and coffee and red chillies of Chikkamangaluru, Kodagu and Hassan. Our effort is to identify the specific product of each block and district and develop export facilities by value addition.
Friends,
Due to the efforts of our government, both the production and export of spices by India has increased considerably. In India, spice production has increased by more than 25 lakh tonnes, so exports have also increased from about 15 thousand crore Rupees to about 19 thousand crore Rupees.
Among spices, if we talk about turmeric, then the efforts of the government have tremendously increased the export of turmeric in the last 5 years. The government is promoting research on new and improved turmeric seeds. Telangana has emerged as a hub for turmeric, but we are also pushing turmeric production in other states including Karnataka.
Brothers and sisters,
The cultivation of coconut, cashew, coffee and rubber in South India has also been flourishing for years. In view of the demand for coconut in the country and the world, the government is taking care of it among other things to ensure that the farmers associated with coconut cultivation get a fair price. Associations related to coconut farmers have been formed and societies are also being formed for the same. I have been told that in Karnataka itself, about 550 such institutes related to coconut farmers have been formed.
Friends,
We have a lot of potential to expand cashew plantations here. The government is trying to provide best quality cashew plants to the farmer and gardener brothers and sisters.
Similarly, efforts are also being made on a large scale to increase the area of rubber production. Our first goal should be to produce rubber here as per the requirement of the country so that we do not have to depend on imports. I am told that the Rubber Board is training many youths here under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana. It will certainly benefit the rubber farmers and industries.
Friends,
Coffee gardens are the pride of South India including Karnataka. The government's effort is to strengthen the value chain of coffee. Therefore, Integrated Coffee Development Programme has been launched. Under this programme, special support and encouragement has been given to the entire system ranging from coffee production to packaging in the last 2-3 years. Assistance in marketing is being provided to small producers, self-help groups, and cooperatives.
Friends,
Apart from Horticulture, South India also has a larger share in the production of pulses, oil and coarse grains. Seed hubs have been built to promote pulses production in India, of which more than 30 centers are located in Karnataka, Andhra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. Similarly, new hubs have also been created in the country for coarse grains, 10 of which are in South India.
Friends,
There is a lot of potential to increase exports in the fisheries sector of South India. The government is working at three levels to strengthen the fisheries sector.
First: by encouraging fisheries in villages, and providing financial assistance to fishermen and siblings.
Second: by modernization of boats under the Blue Revolution Scheme.
And third: by the construction of modern infrastructure associated with the trade and business of fish.
Brothers and sisters,
Fishermen have also been linked to the Kisan Credit Card facility. New fishing harbours are being built in large rivers and in the sea for the convenience of fish farmers. A special fund of Rs.7000 crores has also been created for modern infrastructure.
For the modernization of boats by the government, more than Rs 2500 crore has been given to the states under the Blue Revolution Scheme. Fishermen's boats are being modernized for deep sea fishing and navigation devices are being installed in boats for the protection of fishermen with the help from ISRO. Today, you have also seen many farmers of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka taking advantage of this provision.
Friends,
To tackle the situation of water crisis across India including Karnataka, the government has pledged to deliver water to every household under the Jal Jeevan Mission. A few days ago, another campaign has been started in this direction. The name of this campaign is Atal Bhujal Yojana. Under this, steps are being taken to raise the level of groundwater in 7 states of the country including Karnataka.
Brothers and sisters,
Today, amidst the efforts of the government, I feel there is a need to expand the scope for Krishi Karman Award too. It is my request that keeping in mind the nutritional security of the country, a new category in the Krishi Karman Award should be created for nutritious grains - Nutri Cereals, Horticulture and Organic Agriculture. This will encourage the people and the states doing exceptional work in these areas.
Brothers and sisters,
When our country celebrates 75 years of its independence in the year 2022, the accomplishment of our resolutions will be our tribute to our nation builders. Today we must leave this place with a new energy and a new commitment to double the income of farmers.
I am sure that each of our resolutions will definitely be fulfilled. Once again congratulations to every state, every farmer, and winners of the Krishi Karman Award! And my best wishes to all of you and to every farmer of the country for the New Year and Sankranti.
Thanks a lot!